DERBY DRAMA
Crusaders maintain winning run with last kick of game
Wyatt Crockett placed the order and Mitch Hunt delivered on cue, hitting a dramatic 83rd minute dropped goal to break Highlanders hearts and keep alive the Crusaders’ unbeaten Super Rugby run yesterday in Christchurch.
With the game locked at 22-22 and the Crusaders pack in limbo as the clock wound down, Hunt crushed a drop goal from 43m to give his team a 14th straight win and send the 21,000 Christchurch crowd into raptures.
“We weren’t going forward and big, old Wyatt Crockett turned back to me and said, ‘Do something with it’,” Hunt said. “I didn’t hit it quite as I wanted to. It came off the toe a little bit. I guess a bit of a curve came around and helped it go over.”
Down 19-10 at halftime, the Highlanders stepped up their defensive intensity and struck twice through counter-attacking tries to Waisake Naholo to deservedly put their noses in front. With four minutes remaining, they held a 22-19 lead, before Hunt stepped into spotlight in a frantic final passage.
A penalty with four minutes to go levelled the scores, and Hunt had a chance to win it in the 80th minute, but pushed a tough penalty wide of the uprights. The Highlanders gave possession back to the hosts with a 20m drop out.
The Crusaders mauled through 20 phases but were going nowhere when Crockett barked his order and Hunt slotted a most unlikely goal.
The physical, tight final moments epitomised a typically fierce New Zealand derby game.
The Crusaders now have the Hurricanes standing between them and a perfect regular season, and have shown their abilities to win in an assortment of ways this season.
The Highlanders — and the All Blacks, for that matter — will be concerned after Ben Smith was sent for a concussion test by referee Glen Jackson. He didn’t come back on the field and afterwards Highlanders coach Tony Brown said it was too early to know if Smith would miss game time.
“It’s hard to say at this stage. I haven’t caught up with him or the doctor,” Brown said afterwards. “But he should be all good.”
Throughout the contest, the Crusaders were impressive with their defensive structures; not committing too many players at the ruck, but making their tackles and providing little space for the Highlanders.
Matt Todd was a standout at the breakdown, and showed up regularly on attack as the Crusaders broke with pace, getting quick ball from effective cleanouts and making the Highlanders scramble.
That attacking speed saw the Crusaders shoot out of the gate, carving through big holes in Highlanders midfield. Mitchell Drummond and Seta Tamanivalu both crossed in the first 15 minutes, and while the two sides added a further try apiece, the Crusaders seemed in command.
The Highlanders, who had reeled off nine straight wins, showed second half resolve, keeping the Crusaders scoreless for 36 minutes while scoring two entrepreneurial efforts. Naholo pounced on a George Bridge error to win a race to the line before intercepting an ill-advised floating ball from Codie Taylor to go 70m for the Highlanders’ first lead.
The southerners got through a mammoth 156 tackles as they initially
held strong under a storm of Crusaders pressure, before Hunt’s boot sent them to a devastating defeat.
Crusaders 25 (M. Drummond, S. Tamanivalu, H. Bedwell-Curtis tries; R. Mo’unga 2 cons, M. Hunt pen, drop goal) Highlanders 22 (R. Buckman, W. Naholo 2 tries; M. Banks 2 cons, pen). Halftime: 19-10.